On a bus in Tehran, an unemployed movie buff reading a published screenplay passes himself off as its author, the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

NEWYORKER: Close-Up

One of the best-known female film directors in the country today is Samira Makhmalbaf, who directed her first film The Apple at 17 years old.

BBC: Iranian women tell their own story

Mr Makhmalbaf has not made a good film since leaving Iran.

ECONOMIST: Iran's beleaguered film-makers

He created one of his most fascinating works, "Close-Up" ("Nema-ye nazdik, " 1990), after a cash-strapped film enthusiast presented himself to a family as the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

WSJ: The Metaphysical Riddles of Abbas Kiarostami

The daughter of the prolific film maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf won the 2000 Cannes Jury Prize for her following film Blackboards, about the trials of two travelling teachers in Kurdistan.

BBC: Iranian women tell their own story